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Hot seat Favorite Sampras under pressure at Wimbledon
Posted: Friday June 18, 1999 05:10 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- He is No. 1 in the world and the defending champion but Pete Sampras needs to win Wimbledon for a record sixth time to prove he is still the king of tennis. Sampras has played just 22 matches in the first six months of 1999 because of injury and a decision to miss the Australian Open because of exhaustion. He showed touches of his best form when winning the Queen's grass-court tournament Sunday, but this was his first title since October and Sampras, better than anyone, knows the only titles that matter are the four Grand Slams. Two years ago, when Sampras won his 10th Grand Slam at the All England club with a ferocious display of power against Frenchman Cedric Pioline, it appeared only a matter of time before Roy Emerson's record 12 Grand Slam titles would fall. In the last 18 months, however, the name Sampras has been associated as much with injury as glorious tennis and there are signs the game is moving into the post-Sampras era. He won only four titles last year, including Wimbledon where he beat Goran Ivanisevic in five service-battering sets, and handed over the top ranking to Marcelo Rios before winning it back at the end of the year for a record sixth successive year. The effort required to stay at the top for so long clearly took its toll on the 27-year-old, both physically and mentally. His decision not to play Davis Cup for the U.S. made him few friends and tennis seemed to give him little enjoyment in 1998 as he constantly complained about the drudgery of the tour. It was brave decision to take some time off but it worked wonders for Sampras's psyche. "Not going to Australia was perhaps not the best decision as far as tennis is concerned but it was the best decision of my life. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and I needed to take some time off." "After all those years I felt like a robot," he said in May. He factored in the possibility of losing the No. 1 spot and it has been like a slippery bar stool in the past few months, with Yevgeny Kafelnikov, winner of the Australian Open, and Spain's Carlos Moya, jumping on and U.S. Open champion Pat Rafter standing by to take over. But for the bookmakers there is only one person who can win Wimbledon -- Sampras, named 11-8 favorite. Richard Krajicek, the 1996 champion was a distant second-favorite at 8-1. Partly these odds reflect recent history -- Sampras has won five of the last six Wimbledons and needs just one more to move ahead of Bjorn Borg's record in the modern era of five. Queen's showed that Sampras' game is approaching its best and more importantly his head seems in good order -- he now realizes he became almost an obsessive recluse last year, he's agreed to play Davis Cup, and he is smiling once again. The odds also reflect the lack of bona fide challengers to his crown. Krajicek proved in London in February, when he won the London Indoor title, that he is close to untouchable when his service is operating at full bore. But the fifth seed is not a consistent winner of titles and is drawn to come up against resurgent Andre Agassi, another former champion, in the quarterfinals. Agassi's win in the French Open final was one of sport's great fairytales but the American is struggling to recover from injury. Only Borg and Rod Laver have won at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year and Agassi will have to find his touch immediately to stay afloat. Rafter and Kafelnikov have been less than convincing in recent months despite having the weapons to perform well on grass, as do the two Britons, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, who will also be buoyed by fanatical home supporters. But Sampras knows that he remains the man to beat. "I feel confident at Wimbledon, I always do. The Grand Slams are what it is all about for me. They are what get me excited and what motivates me," he said Sunday. "As long as I am playing well I am going to be very tough to beat no matter who I play."
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